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If you think premier athletes exist only in the four major sports, welcome to the world of
fencing, what competitors call “physical chess.”

A fencer needs to be not only physically gifted, but also mentally stronger than the average
athlete.

The combination is what USA Fencing president Don Anthony Jr. says makes fencing a sport unlike
any other.

“We have some of the best athletes in the world,” Anthony said. “People who weren’t familiar
with the sport are appreciating how much athletic ability it takes. They’re also really intrigued
by how they can take their athletic ability and play with it like chess.”

Some of the best fencers in the U.S. are competing through Sunday at the USA Fencing
Championships in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Admission is free.

Roberto Sobalvarro, coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic bronze-medal fencing team in 2012, thinks
the growth of the sport at the youth level has made a huge difference in the type of athletes
coming into fencing.

“(Fencing) is showing up in a lot of school programs now,” he said. “It’s showing up in a lot of
summer camps now. It’s introducing a lot of kids to the idea and having them see it.”

Emma Keehan, who competes for the Fencers Club of Arizona, believes that fencing has many
similarities to any other sport.

“The endurance, and the motivation and the self-discipline, (are) all the same in every sport
when you reach a competitive level,” she said.

In Columbus, fencing has grown tremendously the past 15 years, with clubs popping up all over
the city. Anthony, a central Ohio resident, is astounded by the growth of fencing around central
Ohio the past several years.